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Calling it “our Super Bowl” and the opportunity to showcase the city’s “swagger” to the world,
Columbus officials submitted a bid to host the 2016 Republican National Convention, and is
preparing to compete for the Democratic convention.

This morning, Reince Priebus, the chairman for the Republican National Committee,
announced on Twitter a list of eight finalists who submitted bids yesterday: Cleveland,
Cincinnati, Columbus, Denver, Dallas, Kansas City, Las Vegas and Phoenix. All who submitted bids
yesterday are considered finalists. A winner is expected to be picked by late August or early
September.

Hosting either would “put Columbus on the map globally,” said Brian Ross, CEO of Experience
Columbus. “This is about economic development, not politics, and will be an economic surge for the
city for the five or six years after.”

“Its really unique for a state to have three cities considered viable hosts for a national
convention, that says a lot about Ohio,” said Jo Ann Davidson, chairwoman of the Ohio Casino
Commission and a member of the Republican National Committee.

“I’m not sure any other state could do that, maybe Texas.”

The 2016 Republican convention is expected to attract 45,000 visitors, total 65,000 hotel
room nights and create $150 million to $200 million in economic impact, Ross said.

The last national political convention held in Ohio was in Cleveland in 1936, when the
Republicans nominated Alf Landon. In recent elections, Ohio’s importance as a swing state has meant
scores of visits from presidential candidates.

“If you win central Ohio, you win Ohio, and if you win Ohio you win the White House,” Ross
said.

All three Ohio cities have a legitimate chance, said Matt Borges, chairman of the Ohio
Republican Party and member of the party’s national committee.

“Columbus sells itself and people were already speculating it was one of the three or four
most-likely places,” he said. “Cleveland’s been involved before and is a strong candidate and
southwest Ohio is the Republican’s bread and butter.”

Senator Sherrod Brown, Mayor Michael B. Coleman and county and state officials will lead a
delegation that is planning to meet today in Washington, D.C. with the Democratic National
Committee. The committee has not sent out a request for proposals for its 2016 national convention.

“Merely by competing is a statement to the nation and the world that Columbus is ready for
prime time ... and shows the world Columbus has swagger,” Coleman said.

A win by one of the three Ohio cities would be a boost for the entire state, said Alex
Fischer, CEO of the Columbus Partnership, a coalition of local CEOs.

“That being said, Columbus is leading our state and the Midwest in job creation and has
become known as one of the cosmopolitan cities of the Midwest,” he said.

The city’s Democratic leadership won’t be a negative factor, said Davidson, a former Ohio
House speaker and member of the Republican’s site selection committee for its 2008 national
convention, which was held in Minneapolis.

“What really factors in is a city’s interest and the desire of the community to host the
convention,” she said. “I’ll do all the lobbying I can on behalf of Ohio.”

Requirements to host the Republicans include an arena capable of holding 18,000 people,
40,000 square feet of office space, 250,000 to 300,000 square feet of space for a media center near
the arena, parking for 2,000 cars and 300-plus buses and 16,000 first-class hotel rooms, plus 1,000
one- and two-bedroom suites.

The winning city must raise an estimated $55 million to defray convention costs.

JobsOhio, Gov. John Kasich’s privatized development agency, pledged up to $10 million to any
Ohio city that lands either national convention. Earlier this month, Kasich said his administration
would seek to “boost” convention bids with funding – JobsOhio turned out to be the solution.

“We meet all the requirements,” Coleman said of the Republican’s wish list for 2016, adding
this wasn’t the case in 2006 when the city considered bidding on the Republican convention, but
eventually decided not to.

“We weren’t ready then, we are now,” he said, citing the Scioto Mile, Columbus Commons,
growth of the Short North and opening of the Hilton Downtown Columbus and other hotels as growth
factors that make Columbus a serious contender.

Coleman, Ross and others will make a pitch to the Republicans on Monday in Washington, D.C.

“The expectations are they’ll have a short list by the middle of March and whoever’s on that
list will receive a site inspection visit in April,” Ross said.

Cleveland was on the Republican’s 2008 short list and received a site visit, Davidson said.

Winning one of the 2016 presidential conventions could help drop “Ohio” from the end of
Columbus when referred to nationally, Ross said.

“I read a lot of stories about the convention process and it continues to irk me that you’ll
see Cleveland and Phoenix and Las Vegas mentioned and they only write the name of the city,” he
said. “And then they’ll list Columbus and they always put the OH right after.

“We love Ohio, but we want to stand on our own like these other cities.”